1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a two-circuit steering system, in particular for military but also for civil utility vehicles, having a steerable axle. For the transmission of high steering forces to the wheels, a conventional steering gear is assigned an auxiliary element on which the movement is forced by way of a kinematic coupling to the steering gear, such that the movement is additionally transmitted via the auxiliary element to the opposite wheel. Further, a steering system with bilateral activation is proposed.
2. Description of the Background Art
Steerable axles comprise a rigid axle which is connected to a vehicle frame and on the ends of which steerable wheels are mounted in an articulated manner. A steering gear and various transmission elements transmit the steering movement from a steering wheel to the wheels (DE 100 58 628 B4). A wheel bearing arrangement for a steerable axle of a vehicle is disclosed for example in DE 20 2004 021 236 U1. An articulated configuration of, and steering arrangement for, a driven or non-driven rigid rear axle of a utility vehicle emerges from DE 296 08 229 U1. DE 20 2004 021 588 U1 is also concerned with a utility vehicle steering system.
Most military vehicles have all-wheel drive. Here, in the case of utility vehicles, aside from the 4×4 drive configuration, the 6×6 and 8×8 drive configurations are often also encountered. In the case of a 4×4 utility vehicle, the utility vehicle has two axles, one front axle and one rear axle. The transmission of a steering movement takes place only to the front axle. In the case of utility vehicles of said type, high steering forces arise in the event of high axle loads.